Author's Note: Sooo this is something that I've been holding back for two years now. I had wanted to finish a few of my projects before I started another one, but I finally caved. I actually have this one planned out and quite a bit written for it already, so I'm hopeful.

RizeKane is one of my guilty faves, so I just had to write this. Hope you enjoy~

It was autumn when they met. Leaves in warm shades departed from their branches, fluttering and falling to the ground. Soon enough, the trees would be barren, their empty branches left to rattle in the winter winds. Though the warmth of summer lingered, the slow death of winter had started. Rize found this charming.

Across from her sat a boy just one year younger, but so much more naïve than her. He was a nervous thing, dark eyes peeking at her shyly from under even darker hair. It was almost like he knew she planned on eating him. Rize also found this charming.

Only when the attention switched from themselves to their shared literary interests, did the little hermit come out of his shell. But just as quickly as he lit up with excitement, he immediately dimmed with embarrassment. His grey eyes ducked from her watchful gaze in a subdued fashion. Unfortunately, Rize had a little surprise waiting for his flighty eyes. Kaneki would certainly not be escaping from her in any fashion.

'Oh how precious.' Rize stifled a giggle as she watched her prey blush and avert his gaze from the cleavage she displayed. Honestly, she didn't even show that much.

'Definitely a virgin,' she mused with a thrill as he stammered. It was cute enough to erase the bad taste the sandwich had left in her mouth.

"Ah boo- books!" he exclaimed with nervous enthusiasm, his eyes dancing somewhere above his head. She barely concealed a grin when she realized he narrowly avoided saying something that almost sounded similar, but with a much different meaning. "We should - I mean - Would you?"

The poor thing was so flustered he couldn't even string together his words anymore. Not that he had much of a silver tongue to begin with, but now he was just pathetic. It only made her want to scramble his nerves that much more.

But at the rate he was going, he would die of embarrassment long before she got around to killing him and she just couldn't have that.

So reigning in her more sadistic tendencies, she innocently offered, "Would you like to go to a bookstore?"

He finally managed to calm himself, his eyes meeting hers gratefully as he meekly nodded.

"Well let's go then~" she cheered, leading the way as he trailed after her. She found herself genuinely smiling as she savored the fresh air, relieved at no longer having to suffer the stench of the restaurant. She turned absently when she heard her companion's quiet gasp, but he was already looking away with rosy cheeks and a genuine smile of his own. She shrugged it off as another one of his oddities, quickly ushering him into the first decent bookstore she found.

The evening flew by as they roamed the shelves, sporadically getting lost in their own little worlds as fiction pulled them away from the present. Conversation was much more sparse, but flowed much more naturally when it did happen. Kaneki finally looked relaxed now that he was in his natural habitat. She found herself oddly enjoying his soft face and bright eyes that danced from book to book.

She shook off the thought, finding one of the books she had been looking for. She flipped through it, hiding an excited grin when it promised to be just as morbid as her usual fare. She added it to her collection, thankful that she and Kaneki at least had their literature tastes in common. She usually had to downplay her darker interests less she scare off her prey.

Wondering if he had had the chance to read it yet, she turned to ask him only to pause when she noticed him mouthing the words as he read from a book. His eyes were nothing but fond as they absorbed the words as if they had been written solely for him.

"Read it out loud," she demanded, before she could stop herself. They blinked as each other, both surprised by the request.

When he only flushed and seemed intent on stuttering his way out of it, Rize insisted, "Read it to me please."

No matter how self-conscious he must have felt, he just couldn't say no to her which couldn't bode well for his future.

"I apologize in advance," he murmured, before taking a deep breath. It did little to settle him as he began reading with a shaking voice, "I have never felt myself drawn toward evolution, and I had not even known love..."

Gradually, his voice lost it's tremble, but not any of it's sweetness as he continued. Seemingly losing himself in the words, his once clumsy tongue weaved words gracefully with the perfect cadence and rhythm. 'And here I thought he didn't have a silver tongue,' she found herself thinking in a bit of awe.

"This I believe implicitly," he continued, unaware of her silent admiration, "Man was born for love and revolution."

Though she was quiet, he still startled when she clapped, "That was beautiful," she complimented sincerely.

Seeing him gearing up to modestly fend off her praise, she cut him off by reading the title, "The Setting Sun by Osamu Dazai?"

"Ah, yes," He admitted as she smiled encouragingly, proud that she had managed to sufficiently reroute him from verbally attacking himself for now, "Have you read it before?"

"No, have you?" she asked though it was pretty clear he had. Predictably, he launched into an excited spiel about the complex themes and skillful use of words. Even more predictably, not a moment later, he was babbling apologies for talking too much.

"You've captured my interests, Kaneki-san," she assured as she took the book from him and added it to her cart.

'In more ways than one,' she found herself adding when he gave her the sweetest, shyest smile yet.

She found herself loitering in the shop much longer than she had originally intended. The clerk had shot them quite a few grumpy looks by the time they checked out, his annoyance only growing when Kaneki stubbornly tried to pay for the book he suggested. Rize watched on in amusement when no matter how many apologies he stuttered, the clerk's mood failed to improve.

It felt all too natural to pat him consolingly on the back as she finally ushered him out of the store.

"It's dark," he realized at the same time she did, the sparsely populated streets seeming even quieter than the book shop.

That was her cue to play the damsel in distress and lure him to his death, but she found herself stalling.

Unaware of her inner struggles, he turned to her with worried eyes, "I'm so sorry for keeping you out so late, Rize-san! If you would like, I could walk you home?"

It was what she had planned. It was what she usually did. Then why was she struggling?

"Yes, that would be," she trailed off, cursing herself, "Please do."

"It's this way," she led after she finally composed herself, hugging his offered arm.

Sensing her troubled thoughts, Kaneki took the lead for once, initiating easy conversation.

They were the same blood type, she learned. He'd been raised by his aunt he told her and she got the impression that his aunt was a demon though he hadn't uttered one unkind word about her. He liked books because that was all his father had left him he continued to confide in her. And though she hardly gave him her biography, she told him how she had run away from the only family she had.

He hadn't pinned her with a pitying look and for that she was grateful. If anything, he looked like he understood her loneliness. 'He's a human,' she had to remind herself, 'He doesn't understand anything.'

She found herself clutching to him instinctively as another ghoul's scent wafted near. Pure possessiveness threatened to reveal her secret as another approached. Seeing her distress, but completely misinterpreting it, Kaneki sent her a comforting smile. Her territorial rage was replaced with amusement. His smile was oddly soothing.

Assured as she was, she still remained wary, only completely relaxing when she saw the waitress from Anteiku. 'So it was one of those peaceful fools? Guess I have nothing to worry about. She's strong, but I'm stronger than any of those human-lovers who deny their nature. She won't interfere.'

Still, the binge eater couldn't resist shooting her a challenging smile when their eyes met. The high schooler wisely averted her eyes, feigning interest in her human friend. 'That's right. He's mine. I will devour him.'

But even as the night grew darker and quieter, she couldn't find the will to drag him into the shadows. He was too delicious to just gobble up immediately. As impulsive as she was, she wanted to savor him. She frowned at the thought that perhaps a certain Gourmet had rubbed off on her a little.

'It doesn't hurt to wait a little. Besides, I'm still quite full,' she told herself even as her stomach growled to contradict her.

"Thank you for walking me home. I really enjoyed our time together," she said as she gave him a grateful hug in front of her door. He froze awkwardly in her arms as she drew him in even closer. She took this time to thoroughly coat him in her scent to ward off other predators, "Let's meet again, Kaneki-san."

With him trapped in her arms, his delicate neck inches from her mouth and his intoxicating scent flooding her senses, she almost lost to her hunger. He foolishly returned her hug, his hands landing timidly on her shoulder blades. "Thank you, Kamishiro-san. I'd really like to see you again, too."

His earnest sentiments snapped her out of her hunger. She had to stifle a condescending giggle. 'You fool. I almost killed you just now. You shouldn't thank me. You shouldn't want to see me again.'

But even as she internally mocked him, she found herself releasing him. It wasn't until she was safely inside with his number stored in her phone that he finally turned to leave. Her nails scratched at the door as she watched her meal walk away through the peephole. She pointedly ignored the melodramatic wail her stomach made.

She rolled her eyes at herself, flopping down with one of her new books. As tempting as the book he had recommended looked, she forced herself to choose one of her picks instead. She had been looking forward to reading it for awhile after all. And honestly, the less she thought of the boy, the less hungry she would be.

Even so, not ten minutes later, she found herself reaching for her phone and impulsively texting him.

'Let's meet again tomorrow. There's another bookstore I want to go to.'

She bit her lip as she reread it, realizing the tone was a little bit too forceful. She usually played it much more coy with her prey. She skillfully ignored the voice that whispered, 'Your prey usually don't make it to the second date.'

But she needn't worry, because Kaneki immediately replied with an affirmative. From there it was only a matter of setting up the time and place.

Having essentially secured her dinner for tomorrow, she frowned as her uneasiness refused to alleviate. Hesitantly, she allowed herself one last impulsive act, hitting send before she could talk herself out of it.

'Be safe and text me when you get home,' she ordered.

Again, he happily complied and less than five minutes later, he was home safe and wishing her a good night.

Her antsy feelings finally dissipated with the thought of him tucked safely in his bed.

'Odd,' she acknowledged, but eagerly dismissed. She glanced at the book he recommended again, but resolutely grabbed the one she had started.

'Tomorrow,' she promised her empty stomach, 'I can wait until tomorrow.'

"Hmm? What's this Rize-chan? Why the wait?" From a nearby rooftop, a clown chuckled at the unexpected event. The binge eater's break of character had screwed up his plans entirely. Even so, the trickster couldn't bring himself to mind much. After all, this could be fun too. "Well I suppose I can wait too then."

A/N: Oh my! I wonder who the mysterious clown could be? (I'm super subtle, huh?) In my defense, I wrote this like two years ago when their identity was still a theory. Oh my, how time flies!

As I mentioned, it's been a while since I wrote this, so please let me know what you think? Did you like it? Hate it? Even a ":)" or ":(" would make my day, so please just let me know.

Thank you for reading and have a wonderful day!

~Dotti3